I Smell Apples
by Justthisfangirl
Summary: With Helena gone, Myka has so many unanswered questions. What exactly did she mean by 'I smell apples? And can Bering and Wells ever be reunited? Kind of spoiler-y for Emily Lake/Stand, and I know it's slow getting to the Myka/HG, but bear with.
1. Chapter 1

"I smell apples... Thank you." And then everything explodes, with just Artie, Pete and me safe, spectators as everything burns. I raise my hand to shield the light of the blazing Warehouse, and when I lower it again, she's gone._ Helena's gone._ The forcefield fades, and Artie and Pete move away from me, and start stumbling through the rubble. I just keep standing there, staring at the spot where she stood. _She can't be gone. I need her. What's Bering and Wells without the Wells? Nothing, that's what. Helena Georgina Wells. My H.G._ I feel something jolt against my shoulder, and I hurriedly wipe away the tears that are sliding down my cheeks.

"Uh, Mykes?" I turn around to see Pete looking at me silently. I glance past him, and see Artie push his glasses up on his nose, and turn and walk away, picking through the wreckage. I look back at Pete, who hasn't moved.

"...Myka?" He says softly, before reaching out his arms.

I sniff, and pull at my clothes. "Pete, I'm fine. Go with Artie, I'll catch up."_ I'm not fine, I yell inside my head. She's gone, and you don't seem to care._ Pete gazes at me quietly, before giving a small nod and following Artie away. I turn back again, and look at the floor. Where she stood is just inches away from the ring of the forcefield, a circle of emptiness amongst all the rubble._ If only she had been inside the forcefield. She could have worked out how to make it work, she was a genius. She surely could have saved herself. But she didn't. She's gone._


	2. Chapter 2

"Claud?" I knock softly on her door.

"Go away!" Her muffled yell echoes through the quiet B&B. I push open the door anyway, and walk into her room. The curtains are still shut, and there are plates of uneated food, Leena's favoured method of comfort, covering every surface. A duvet-covered lump in the middle of the bed moves, and Claudia's head pops out of the top. Her eyes are ringed with red, and there are black smudges where her mascara has run down her cheeks. Her normally perfect hair is unkempt, and greasy, sticking up at odd angles.

"I told you to go away." she murmurs, as I perch on the edge of the bed.

"I know you did Claud, but I get it, I really do. I miss him too." Claudia opens her mouth to protest, but I keep talking. "I know I don't miss him like you do, he was your best friend."

"BFFEWYLION." she whispers.

"Uh, bless you?" I reply, reaching across her for the half-empty tissue box.

"No, Best Friend For Ever Whether You Like It Or Not." Claudia takes the tissues from me, and smiles weakly. She catches my gaze, and her smile drops, and she pulls the duvet tighter.

"Claud, I think Leena made cookies, shall we go downstairs? The others are at the Warehouse, trying to get everything back together, they won't be back for ages." Claudia nods, as I get up. She shuffles, still wrapped in her duvet, out the door. As she leaves, I fling open her curtains, and collect up the dishes, before following Claudia downstairs. I hear her slump on the sofa, as I go past into the kitchen. A towering plate of cookies stand on the table, and I take it into Claudia.

She looks up as I enter, and reaches out her arms for the cookies. I smile softly, and hand them to her. She nibbles the edge of one warily, before starting to wolf down the cookies.

"Oh my god, I'm starving!" Claudia mumbles through a mouthful of food.

"I know. I had a few days where I couldn't face anything, didn't eat, didn't sleep, didn't wash, just lay there, crying, after He-... after what happened, and then Pete brought me a cookie and a comic book, thinking it would help, and I haven't stopped since." I look at Claudia, who is still working through the cookies ravenously.

"It's not going to get easier, you know. Not for a long long time. But if we don't do anything about it, Steve and H- Helena, will be gone for nothing. They saved our lives, Claud, we owe them."

Claudia stops eating, swallowing quickly, and looks at me quietly.

"But, there was all that time where you thought Steve betrayed us." she says softly.

"I know, Claud, but we didn't know then, none of us did, there's so much I regret, but regrets can't bring them back, either of them. They- They're not coming back, not this time."

Claudia looks down at her lap. "What if they could?"

"Claud, what do you mean?"

"What if we could bring them back, Mykes? Both of them." I frown at her, bemused.

"Claud, are you saying-"

That excited burn in her eyes that I know so well flickers on. "Myka, you know when we sent Rebecca back to see Jack again, and H.G.'s time machine broke? Well, I, uh, stole the blueprints after that, and I worked out how to fix it. We could go back, both of us. I can see Steve, and you can see H.G. and maybe,just maybe, we can fix this. We could bring them back." I nod silently, a smile forming on my face.

She springs to her feet, still wrapped in her duvet, sending the plate of cookies flying.

"Do you really think it could work, Claud?" I whisper hopefully.

The first proper smile I've seen since Steve died spreads across her face, before she turns and sprints towards the stairs. With more hope than I dare to have, I follow her upstairs, hearing her babble at the speed of sound about how to fix the machine.


	3. Chapter 3

I enter Claudia's room to see her crawling under her bed.

"Claud, why are you under there?" She pushes boxes out from under the bed in response, and I pick them up and place them on top of the bed. As Claudia continues to wriggle under the bed, I open the boxes and poke through them. Random bits of metal and wires lie jumbled together, the discarded skeletons of Claudia's tinkering. Another box contains the casing of a Farnsworth, and a Tesla. I lift out the Tesla as Claudia wriggles out from under the bed.

"Claudia?" I say, and a light in the Tesla flickers on. I wave it in her direction as she lifts her head to look at me. A look of sheer terror crosses her face, and she drops towards the floor.

"Myka, put that down." she says slowly.

I open my mouth in confusion, "Cl-"

"NO. Don't say my name again. Put it down, now." I snap my mouth shut, and frown at her quizzically, placing the Tesla carefully back in its box.

"I used the bits from my Farnsworth to try and make the Tesla lock onto who you wanted to shoot. Like voice recognition. You just have to say the person's name twice." she says, clambering to her feet. "It's got some glitches." She leans into the box and fiddles with the Tesla, and the light fades.

"Does Artie know you've taken more of the Farnsworths?" I say.

"Pfft." she snorts. "He didn't work out it was me when I hacked the Warehouse, he's not going to notice me fiddling with the Farnsworths. Anyway, blueprints!" Claudia brandishes a faded plan with a flourish. I reach out and take them from her, scanning them.

She snatches them back, and turns them to face her.

"It's the flux capacitor that broke when we last used it, I checked. So all we need to do is make a new flux capacitor and BAM, it should be fixed."

"Flux capacitor? Wait... Isn't that from some movie Pete made me watch?"

"Back to the Future? Yeah, he made me watch it too, considering we have the actual DeLorean in the Warehouse."

"Oh, ok." I reply.

Claudia looks vaguely disappointed, "Aw, man, I was hoping you'd freak out about that! Pete did! He was convinced there was no such thing! He said it was just a movie!"

"Claud, very little surprises me anymore. There's no such thing as no such thing. Getting back to the point. Flux capacitor, how do we get one?" I say hurriedly.

Claudia smirks, "Like I said, the DeLorean is in the Warehouse, so, who fancies going back to the future?"

"...The past, Claud."

"Whatever, Mykes. I've always wanted to say that."


	4. Chapter 4

The door of the Warehouse swung open.

"Knock knock." singsonged Claudia. I glanced at her and she shrugged, before walking through the door and into the corridor. I followed her through the corridor and into the empty office.

"Claud, how is this still here? It all exploded, I was there."

"The Regnets had some artefact-y thing which acted like a force field around the office. Mrs F did explain. Before she... Before." Claudia's voice trailed off towards the end of the sentencel

"Ah. Ok. And where is everyone?" I wondered aloud.

"Oh, we got a ping." Claudia replied lightly, squinting at the screen.

"Everyone went to Utah, reported sighting of an astronaut at the edge of some lake. Probably someone dressing up, but whatever. Pete, Artie and Leena are on their way there."

"They all left the Warehouse alone? How would we know if there was an artefact?" I exclaimed.

"Chill, Mykes! I did the bibbity-bobbity-boo and got all the alerts sent to my Farnsworth. It's all fine." said Claudia, waving her Farnsworth in my face. "Anyway, be glad they're gone, we can get on with getting that capacitor." She bent over the computer, and tapped furiously on the keys. "The DeLorean is, uh, in the same aisle as all the other artefacts that are from TV. There's some very weird stuff down there. Weird but totally awesome." She straightened up and scurried towards the viewing platform. I hurried after her, and down into the Warehouse.

* * *

"Wow." I breathed, as we entered the aisle of TV-related artefacts. "Is this what it's like living in Pete's brain?"

Claudia grinned, "I know. It's so cool. But, freaky stuff happens and the artefacts go all crazy. But, LOOK AT IT ALL. This is my favourite aisle to do an inventory for. And since this stuff comes from TV land, it's thankfully very explosion etc resistant. Yay." I wandered towards some items on the shelf nearest me. "No touching!" Claudia snapped.

"Relax, _Artie_, I'm not Pete." I smirk, and then frown at the item in front of me. "A bowtie?"

Claudia shrugged, "Bowties are cool." she said simply.

"Right. And..." I squint at a folded shirt. "What? Why is there a purple shirt?"

"Don't get too close!" Claudia yelped. She lent into the sign to read the description. "That's the Purple Shirt of, uh, Sex. If you touch it or look at it too long, it can cause feelings of lust and infatuation. Oh, and obsession. Came from Britain, I think." Her voice trailed off as she wandered further down the aisle. I followed her down the aisle, my eyes widening at each new artefact.

"Argh!" Claudia yells, and jumps away from the shelf. "Ow! Owowowowowowwowowowowowowow."she shouts, waving her hand."Stupid Claudia. No touching the cool things." I walk closer to her.

"Claud, the DeLorean, remember?"

"Yes, yes, yes, I know. This way." She hurries down the aisle, and calls excitedly, "IT'S HERE!"

I run after her, and stop by her side, gazing at the car in front of me.

"Wow. That is actually quite cool. Can we just use this, Claud? If you're going to travel in time, you may as well do it in style."

She bends down to read the description by the car. "Nope. Bummer. Runs on plutonium. We don't have that. And radiation and all that jazz. But..." she crouches down, and snaps a purple glove on. Reaching under the car with a grimace of concentration, she wiggles her arm, and with a flourish, pulls out a metal device.

"Thankfully, special effects in the eighties weren't up to much. Stuck the stuff on with glue, didn't they? It's all falling apart by now..." she shakes her head despairingly, before looking up at me, and grinning.

"But, we now have the capacitor, and so, we can fix H.G.'s time machine, and go back and rescue Steve!" She pauses, after a glare from me. "And H.G., of course..."


	5. Chapter 5

**I've gotten reviews asking how Claudia and Myka can get at artefacts when the Warehouse was blown up and destroyed. *facepalm* stupid me. I've now fixed it. _Again. _She no longer used the metronome, like I suggested, there was Regent shenanigans. It says so last chapter. I totally added that bit about ten seconds ago.**

* * *

Claudia steps back from the machine with a satisfied but exhausted grin, and pushes her hair out of her eyes. "Now, that should work. Hopefully. It could still have some glitches but -"

I cut her off, "But it should work. Can I use it now?"

She glances at me, "Uh, Mykes, I'm not a hundred per cent, we could get stuck when the 22 hours are up."

"22 hours and 19 minutes, Claud." I reply. "Either way, there's an awful lot I could do in 22 hours and 19 minutes... And I don't care if I- if I get stuck in the past."

She looks at me slowly. "You know that if you get stuck you can't come back, right? If it goes wrong, no more Myka?"

I nod gravely, "Claud, what reason do I have to come back here? Helena will still be dea- ... She'll still be gone, whether I come back or not."

Claudia nods, and turns back to the machine, fiddling with the buttons. "When are you going to, Mykes?" she calls over her shoulder.

"1899," I say softly. "The year her daughter died." Claudia presses a few buttons as I step up to the seats of the machine. I stop, and stare at it silently. _I can see her again. My Helena._ Suddenly, I feel something collide into the back of me, and I yelp in surprise. I feel a pair of arms wrap around me, and I relax. I swivel around and look at the younger girl.

"Oh, Claud." I say, wrapping my arms around her.

"Mykes, what if this goes wrong? I can't lose you. I already lost Steve, you can't leave me too." she says quietly, her words muffled.

I let go with one arm and lift her head up to look at her. "Claud, even if I don't come back, I'm not leaving you. I'll always be here for you, no matter where I am. Look at you, Claud, look how far you've come. You're not that little girl from the Institute anymore. You've grown up, and I got to see it happen. Claudia Donovan, I'm not going to vanish off the face of the earth if this goes wrong, look around you, you're in a world where anything is possible. You're a smart girl, I'm sure you'll think of something." I step away from Claudia and sit down in the machine.

She sniffs, and rubs at her eyes. "When you get back, you owe me big time, Mykes." she says, smiling weakly. I smile back, and Claudia flicks a switch on the machine. The chair begins to spin, slowly at first, and then faster and faster, until Claudia becomes a blur.

* * *

I wake up to find myself nose to nose with a rather angry looking Helena. I stumble backwards in shock, and I can tell my mouth has dropped open.

"Don't just stand there looking gormless," she snaps, "Come on." She turns and flounces away down the corridor, her full skirts swishing with every step. I stand there and stare at het retreating figure. _My Helena_. I give myself a shake, and hurry after her. Out of the corner of my eye, I glimpse a movement, and I spin around, immediately on my guard. Seeing the wild-eyed man opposite me, I reach automatically for my Tesla. My eyes widen as the bearded man does the same. _Oh my god. That's a mirror. That's what I look like. That's who's body I've taken over. I'm a man._


	6. Chapter 6

"I assume that you're here to see Charles?" Helena calls over her shoulder.

"Actually, He-... Miss Wells, I'm here to see you." Helena spun around and eyed me up and down.

"If you're a lawyer or something, I don't require your services. My daughter's funeral has been dealt with." she snapped.

"No, Miss Wells, I'm not here about your daughter, I'm here for you." Helena folded her arms, and raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"Um, Miss Wells, my name is Myk-..." _Crap. What can I say my name is?_ "Michael. Michael, uh, Lattimer."

Helena's expression didn't change. "...Yes?"

"I'm, um, Miss Wells, is there somewhere more private we can have this conversation?" Helena continued looking at me silently. I sighed and leaned towards her conspiratorially.

"It's concerning the Warehouse." Helena turned and stalked away into a room at the end of the corridor. I hurried after her, walking ungainly as I grew used to this man's body. I followed into the room and turned around to close the door. Something cold and hard pressed into my neck and I stiffened.

"He-Helena!" I stammered.

Helena pushed the Tesla closer into my neck, her breath hot on my cheek as she leaned in and purred, her voice thrilling me, "It's Miss Wells to you, Mr Lattimer. Now, tell me exactly what you know about the Warehouse."

My mind racing at a thousand miles an hour, I stammered out the first thing that came to mind. "Fudge!" I barked. "I smell fudge!" I felt the Tesla lift off my neck, and I turned around slowly, hands in the air, to face Helena.

"What?" she snapped, still pointing the Tesla at me. "I smell fudge." I said quietly. "And if you don't mind, Helena, please lower the Tesla."

Helena narrowed her eyes, her strong English accent becoming more pronounced as she spoke, "I told you, Mr Lattimer, to call me Miss Wells. And you still haven't answered my question. How do you know about the Warehouse?"

"Michael. Well, Mike. Call me Myke." I said.

Helena raised an eyebrow, "I think I'll stick to Mr Lattimer, 'Mike'. I'm waiting for answers." She lowered the Tesla slightly, so it pointed at my midriff, rather than my face.

"Helen-... Miss Wells. I'm from the Warehouse. Not Warehouse 12, Warehouse 13."

Helena snorted, "That's ridiculous, Mr Lattimer, Warehouse 13 doesn't exist. Where exactly do you come from?"

_Oh well, sometimes the truth is the easiest thing to explain._ "Helena-" I see her frown when I call her by her first name, "Helena, I'm from the future."

Helena smirked, "My, Mr Lattimer, you underestimated me. You really expect me to believe that you are from the future?"

"I told you to call me Myke, Helena. And yes, I'm from the future. Using your time machine. The one you built. To go back and see Christina."

Helena flinched at the mention of her daughter. "How did you know my daughter's name?"

"Helena, in the future, we're... friends. Good friends, in fact, you're one of the best friends I ever had. You told me about Christina, how those men attacked, everything."

"I would never tell any of that to anyone, especially some man." Helena says, the Tesla shaking in her hand.

"Helena," I say, rushing towards her, "I'm not just some man, I'm Myka. Myka Ophelia Bering."

Helena tightens her grip on the Tesla and raises it to my face again, glaring, "How much of what you have told me has been a lie, 'Myka'? If that is even your name. How dare you come in here, talking to me like you know me, talking about my daughter, my Christina?"

I reach out a shaking hand and grasp the Tesla, and slowly, gently pull it out of Helena's hand. "It's true, Helena. I'm from the future. I'm Myka, and I work in Warehouse 13. Your time machine is in the Warehouse, and I used it to come back to see you. To spend these last hours with you."

Helena steps away from me, looking down at the floor. "You talk like you'll never see me again. Am I dead, is that it?"

I smile softly, "You always were a genius, Helena."

Helena looks up and meets my eyes. "Were. Past tense. Interesting." She stares at me, silently, and I stare back, equally as quietly. _It's her. Helena. My Helena._

"Helena Georgina Wells, I have-" I checked the old pocket watch in this man's waistcoat. "-approximately 21 hours and 56 minutes before I run out of time. Help me make that time the best time of my life?" I say, offering her my arm. Helena takes it silenty, her eyes distant, staring at a place I can't see, thinking, with an expression on her face that I know well.


	7. Chapter 7

As we walk through the busy streets, Helena is strangely silent.  
"Helena?" I ask quietly.  
"Mr Lattimer, in public, I have an image to maintain, so please refrain from calling me by my first name." she says, not quite meeting my eye.  
"I told you to call me Myka, Helena." I persist, and she sighs frustratedly.  
"And do you have any idea how ridiculous it would sound for me to be calling you, a man of your position, 'Myka'?"  
I falter, "My position?"  
Helena stops and turns to face me, her hands clasped at her waist. "Do you not know who you are?"  
"I'm Myka Bering." I say simply. "That is all you need. You'll work the rest out eventually."  
"Eventually, Mr Lattimer?"  
"Not important. But, please, at least call me Bering. I can't cope with you calling me by Pete's name."  
"Pete, Mr, uh, Bering?" Helena frowns slightly.  
"Pete's my partner."  
Helena raises an eyebrow and smirks. "Ah, I see."  
"No! Not like that. Pete, well, he's not exactly my type."  
Helena looks at me quizzically. I look back at her silently, holding her gaze.  
"Wait, you do know Myka is a girl's name, right?"  
Helena looks at me with contempt. "Mr Bering, I had assumed that, considering your middle name, you were, uh-" she looked me up and down, "-female. Please credit me with some intelligence." I nod silently. "Now, " she says, turning away and continuing walking, "Tell me exactly why you decided to come here. Why exactly you picked London, why you picked 1899, and why you picked me."  
"Isn't it obvious, Helena?" I say quietly.  
Helena frowns at me, before her confusion clears. "I see." She looks away, and we continue walking. Helena guides me down a quiet side street.  
I glance at her, "Helena, where are we going?"  
She smiles vaguely and continues walking. I follow her, clutching her arm tightly. The winding streets get quieter and narrower, as Helena keep sharply steering me down smaller and darker alleys and side streets. Suddenly, my back is pressed against the wall and the whirring noise of a Tesla begins. I glance down at it, clutched in her hands, before looking back up at her.  
"Oh, not again Helena. Now, where exactly were you keeping that?" I say slowly.  
She smirks, and leans towards me, whispering "Oh, Mr Bering, you really don't want to know." She leans away again. "I had to get you away from the house, I wouldn't want to face the questions from my dear brother if things got a tad... messy."  
"And are they going to get messy?"  
"That depends on your replies to my questions, Bering. Firstly, in the future, how do you know me?"  
"You're not supposed to know your own future, Helena. Thats one of the first rules of time travel, according to Pete."  
"Mr Bering, I think that while I'm holding the gun, I... call the shots, as they say." she smirked. "Now tell me."  
"You were bronzed, Helena. Apparently, you've gotten a bit lax since Christina died." Helena flinched at the mention of her daughter's name. "You decided to be bronzed, rather than face the Regents again." Helena looked away, never lowering the Tesla. "Uhm, and then you were debronzed, and me and Pete chased you to London. Long story short, I got here. And you're pointing a gun at me again. Bering and Wells. Forever destined to meet at gun point."

* * *

**I know this is several weeks late, and infuriatingly short, but I've had actual life to deal with, and an awful lot has happened these past few months. So I've really only just got back into writing. (I have an hour long commute every morning now, I may as well use it.) But, apologies, there shall be more Bering and Wells soon! **


End file.
